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Cowper 

The  Sources,  Date, 

and  Style  of 
"Ille  et  Galeron" 
by  Gautier  d* Arras 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Ube  Taniversits  cf  Gbicaao 


THE  SOURCES,  DATE,  AND  STYLE 

OF  "ILLE  ET  GALERON"  BY 

GAUTIER  D'ARRAS 


SUBMITTED   TO  THE   FACULTY 

OF   THE    GRADUATE   SCHOOL  OF   ARTS   AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURES 


BY 


FREDERICK  A.  G.  fcoWPER 


Private  Edition,  Distributed  By 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Reprinted  from 

MODERN  PHILOLOGY,  Vol.  XVIII,  No.  n,  March  1921 
and  Vol.  XX,  No.  i,  August  1922 


TCbe  TUmverstts  ot  Cbicago 


THE  SOURCES,  DATE,  AND  STYLE 

OF  "ILLE  ET  GALERON"  BY 

GAUTIER  D'ARRAS 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED   TO   THE   FACULTY 

OF   THE    GRADUATE    SCHOOL  OF   ARTS   AND   LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR   THE   DEGREE   OF 

DOCTOR   OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURES 


BY  .    / 

FREDERICK  A.  G.  COWPER 


Private  Edition,  Distributed  By 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

Reprinted  from 

MODERN  PHILOLOGY,  Vol.  XVIII,  No.  u,  March 
and  Vol.  XX,  No.  i,  August  1922 


7  - 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

The  following  papers  are  adapted  from  a  study  made  in  partial 
fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy 
in  the  University  of  Chicago.  The  study  deals  with  the  sources, 
date  and  style  of  the  Ille  et  Galeron,  and  with  the  patrons  of  Gautier 
d'Arras. 

I  hereby  take  the  opportunity  to  thank  Professors  W.  A.  Nitze, 
T.  A.  Jenkins,  E.  P.  Dargan,  E.  H.  Wilkins,  and  Karl  Pietsch  for 
their  encouragement  and  suggestions  in  regard  to  form  and  contents, 
and  Professor  A.  Coleman  for  securing  me  a  rotograph  of  the  Paris 
manuscript  of  the  Ille.  I  am  indebted  also  to  Lord  and  Lady 
Middleton  for  their  courtesy  in  allowing  the  Wollaton  manuscript 
to  be  photographed,  and  to  Mr.  W.  H.  Stevenson  for  taking  the 
manuscript  to  Oxford  and  superintending  the  making  of  the  roto- 
graph, and  also  for  his  valuable  information  in  regard  to  the  text 
and  miniatures. 

F.  A.  G.  C. 

DURHAM,  NORTH  CAROLINA 
April  1922 


DISS.1T" 


I 

THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  ILLE  ET  GALERON 


The  poem  of  Ille  et  Galeron  by  Gautier  d'Arras  has  been  known 
only  from  the  very  defective  Paris  manuscript  (fonds  frangais,  373). 
In  1911,  Mr.  W.  H.  Stevenson  made  a  report  to  the  British  Manu- 
scripts Commission  upon  the  manuscript  treasures  found  at  Wollaton 
Hall  and  quoted  liberally  from  the  prologue  and  epilogue  of  a  new 
text  of  the  poem.1  A  brief  notice  of  this  discovery  was  made  in  an 
obscure  corner  of  Romania,  in  1913  (XLII,  145).  So  far  as  I  know, 
the  only  other  mention  of  this  find  is  in  Professor  Sheldon's  article, 
"On  the  Date  of  Ille  et  Galeron,"  Modern  Philology,  XVII,  1919.2 
Through  the  kindness  of  Lord  and  Lady  Middleton  and  Mr.  Steven- 
son, I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  rotograph  of  the  new 
text.  A  comparison  of  this  with  the  Paris  manuscript  shows  inter- 
esting and  important  differences.  I  shall  here  briefly  indicate  these 
differences  and  shall  also  discuss  the  conclusions  reached  by  Professor 
Sheldon. 

Mr.  Stevenson  states  that  the  new  manuscript  is  in  an  early 
thirteenth-century  French  hand  and  in  the  Picard  dialect.  A  careful 
examination  of  the  new  text  indicates  that  it  is  in  the  hand  of  at 
least  two  scribes.  The  past  participles  of  the  first  conjugation  end 
in  -t,  as  do  nouns  like  gret.  The  Picard  features  differ  as  between 
the  earlier  and  later  folios  of  the  text  and  certain  Anglo-Norman 
features  have  been  introduced.  The  only  indication  of  the  history 
of  the  volume  is  the  name  "John'  Bertrem,  de  Thorp  Kilton" 
(County  York)  in  a  fifteenth-century  hand  (fo.  347*0 .  The  text  is 
in  two  columns  of  forty-seven  or  forty-eight  verses  each.  It  contains 
illuminated  initials  and  seven  miniatures  in  colors.3  Practically 

1  Report  on  the  Manuscripts  of  Lord  Middleton,  preserved  at    Wollaton  Hall,  Notting- 
hamshire, Hereford,  1911,  pp.  221  f. 

2  Since  this  was  written  Brandin's  edition  of  the  Chanson  d"  Aspremont  ("Classiques 
francais  du  moyen-age, "  Vol.  XIX),  which  is  made  from  the  Wollaton  manuscript,  has 
come  to  my  attention. 

'  157r.  Lamb  with  banner  of  Cross;  158r.  Boy  Ille  with  dragon;  160r.  Rogelyon  in 
armor  on  horseback;  164r.  Ille  and  the  Roman  emperor;  170r.  Ille  and  Ganor;  175». 
Ille  and  the  emperor  again;  185r.  Ganor.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  neither  Duke 
Conain  nor  his  sister  Galeron  are  pictured,  while  Ganor  and  her  father  appear  twice. 
The  illustrator,  at  least,  was  more  interested  in  the  Roman  part  of  the  romance  than 
he  was  in  the  Breton. 


C  THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

all  of  the  text  is  legible.  A  few  letters  are  blurred  here  and  there, 
but  almost  all  can  be  restored  with  the  aid  of  the  Paris  manu- 
script. Two  words  are  frequently  written  as  one.  The  scribe  used 
damaged  parchment  in  several  instances,  for  one  page  which  bears 
stitches  and  several  with  holes  show  the  text  intact,  written  around 
the  damaged  spots. 

The  poem  contains  5,835  verses,  757  less  than  the  Paris  manu- 
script. This  is  the  net  loss,  for  1,182  lines  of  the  Paris  manuscript 
are  missing,  while  there  are  425  new  lines.  Necessarily  there  are 
important  differences.  The  losses  of  lines  are  mainly  in  the  prologue, 
in  Ille's  earlier  battles,  and  in  the  account  of  the  courtship  of  Ille 
and  Galeron.  The  chief  additions  are  in  the  kidnaping  and  rescue 
of  Ganor,  and  in  the  epilogue.  There  are  innumerable  minor  changes 
of  letter,  word,  or  word-order,  almost  all  of  which  clear  up  contro- 
verted points.  The  larger  part  of  Foerster's  notes  are  now  obsolete. 
In  many  cases,  Loseth's  emendations  are  justified  by  the  new  text. 

The  rhymes  are  generally  exact.  Identical  rhymes  and  two 
couplets  on  the  same  rhyme-syllable  are  more  frequent  than  in  the 
Paris  manuscript.  There  is  but  one  lacuna,  the  rhyme-pair  to  verse 
1255  (after  1938,  Paris)  being  lacking.  The  verse  does  not  occur 
in  the  Paris  manuscript,  and  it  very  clearly  does  not  belong  where 
it  stands.1 

Seventy-three  lines  of  the  old  prologue  are  missing.  The  allu- 
sions to  Germany  are  lacking  and  the  eulogy  of  Beatrice  is  reduced  in 
other  ways.2  Of  the  13  new  lines,  one  fills  the  lacuna  after  117,3 
two  are  added  to  the  discussion  of  Envy,4  and  after  131  are  added 
the  ten  following: 

W.  63    Molt  par  me  torne  a  grant  anui 
Quant  ainc  ma  dame  ne  conui; 
65    Molt  me  fust  encor  plus  soef . 
Or  m'estuet  sigler  a  plain  tref 
Por  c.als  ataindre  qui  ains  murent 
Et  qui  ainc  (1.  ains)  de  moi  le  conurent. 
Tols  les  premiers  volrai  ataindre; 

i  P(aris)  1255  "Icil  i  vint  molt  erramment. " 
»  P.  8-19,  23-54,  79-102,  107-10,  and  132. 
s  P.  46  "  Tant  come  honors  loe  et  conselle. " 
4  W(ollaton)  57  "Li  drois  d'envie  est  une  ardors 

Qui  li  fait  hair  les  mellors. " 


THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON"  7 

70    Car  molt  a  entre  faire  et  faindre. 
Servir  le  voel  si  com  jo  sai; 
Car  a  s'onor  voel  faire  .i.  lai 
De  Galeron,  etc. 

These  lines  might  well  be  taken  into  consideration  in  connection 
with  any  argument  regarding  the  date  of  the  poem.  Does  Gautier 
mean  that  he  did  not  know  Beatrice  until  after  the  coronation  at 
Rome,  and  that  he  wishes  to  enjoy  as  much  of  the  new  Empress' 
favor  as  those  who  had  known  her  before  she  had  risen  to  her  full 
height  of  fame  ?  This  would  seem  to  favor,  for  the  beginning  of  the 
poem,  a  date  somewhere  near  August  1,  1167. 

Line  72,  if  it  is  Gautier's,  is  very  important,  for  in  it  the  poem 
itself  is  referred  to  as  a  "lai."  Unfortunately  we  cannot  compare 
it  with  the  famous  passage  (P.  929-36)  criticizing  lais,  for  that 
passage  does  not  occur  in  this  version.  If  this  passage  belongs  in 
the  original  manuscript,  it  clearly  does  not  refer  to  any  possible  source 
in  a  lai  d'llle  et  de  Galeron:  the  lais  which  Gautier  is  criticizing  are 
those  of  Marie  de  France,  which  were  probably  then  enjoying  great 
popularity  in  the  French  courts. 

In  the  description  of  the  first  battle  fought  by  Ille  against  Hoe'l, 
his  traditional  enemy,  when  Ille  returns  from  exile  in  France 
(P.  277-546) ,  we  find  many  lines  in  changed  order.  While  20  new  lines 
appear,  291  are  missing,  including  all  the  plays  on  the  numbers  of 
knights  and  those  where  the  French  knights  show  a  certain  nervous- 
ness (P.  447-63).  The  100  lines  recounting  the  exploits  of  Bruns 
d'Orleans  and  Estout  de  Langres  (P.  578-677)  are  absent,  and  the 
role  of  Hoe'l  is  greatly  abbreviated. 

In  the  episode  of  the  battle  with  Rogelyon,  the  rejected  suitor 
and  nephew  of  Hoe'l,  62  lines  are  missing,  while  9  are  added. 

In  the  courtship  of  Ille  and  Galeron  185  lines  are  dropped,  13 
added.  The  monologues  of  the  two  lovers  are  entirely  omitted, 
as  is  the  pretty  scene  in  which  Conain  drags  from  his  'sister  the 
confession  of  her  feelings.  In  this  more  primitive  version,  Conain 
offers  Galeron  to  Ille,  and,  when  the  offer  is  accepted,  goes  and 
tells  the  girl  to  get  ready  at  once  for  the  wedding.  We  are  here 
closer  to  the  spirit  of  the  chanson  de  geste  than  to  that  of  the  courtly 
epic.  The  faulty  connection  at  this  point  indicates,  however,  that 


s  THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

at  least  some  of  the  lines  in  the  Paris  manuscript  belonged  in  the 
original. 

The  important  episode  in  which  Ille  lost  an  eye  is  quite  different. 
The  32  lines  (P.  1625-56)  which  tell  of  his  triumph  in  the  tournament 
and  his  unlucky  decision  to  try  just  one  more  tilt  are  missing  and  in 
their  place  are  the  six  following: 

W.  981    Un  jor  estoit  en  une  guerre; 
Si  prist  le  segnor  de  la  terre 
Devant  le  castiel  qu'il  avoit. 
Mais  uns  de  §als  que  il  tenoit 
Al  rembarer  la  forteresce 
Retorne  al  pont  et  si  s'adrece. 
De  la  lance  qu'il  porte  en  destre 
Fiert  Ylle,  etc. 

This  decided  difference  between  the  two  versions  suggests  the 
possibility  that  Gautier  himself  made  two  versions  of  his  poem, 
one  for  Beatrice  and  another  for  Thibaut.  The  absence  of  the 
tournament  scene  from  the  Wollaton  manuscript  recalls  the  opposi- 
tion to  this  form  of  sport.  It  had  been  forbidden  by  a  papal  decree 
of  1131,  renewed  in  1139,1  participants  were  threatened  with  excom- 
munication, and  ecclesiastical  burial  was  to  be  denied  anyone  who 
might  be  killed. 

The  episode  in  which  the  wounded  Ille  slips  away  to  a  castle  so 
as  not  to  see  his  wife,  and  she  succeeds  in  getting  into  his  presence, 
is  much  improved  by  the  insertion  of  the  following  lines  after  P.  1754: 

1069    A  bien  petit  que  ne  se  tue; 

D'uns  dras  a  home  s'est  vestue. 

In  the  catalogue  of  countries  visited  by  Galeron  in  further  pur- 
suit of  her  elusive  husband,  there  are  some  marked  changes.  In 
verse  1295  (P.  1988)  Bresaliande  replaces  Nohuberlande;  in  1297 
(P.  1990)  Auvergne  is  replaced  by  Norouerge  and  Normendie  is 
added;  in  1301  (P.  1994)  Esclavonie  is  replaced  by  Bougerie;  and 
two  new  lines  (1306-7)  after  P.  1998  bring  in  Borgoigne. 

In  Ille's  first  battle  for  the  Roman  emperor  against  the  Greeks 
there  are  only  minor  changes;  33  lines  are  added,  23  subtracted. 

1  Young  Henry  of  Champagne  and  the  king's  brother  Robert  held  a  great  tournament 
at  Easter,  1 149,  in  spite  of  the  very  vigorous  efforts  of  St.  Bernard  to  induce  the  Abb6 
Suger,  regent  of  Prance,  Count  Thibaut  (father  of  Henry  and  our  patron  Thibaut),  and 
other  notables  to  forbid  it.  See  Arbois  de  Jubainville,  Histoire  dea  dues  et  des  comtes  de 
Champagne,  III.  21-24. 


THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON"  9 

The  second  battle,  in  which  the  seneschal  is  killed,  is  substantially 
the  same  in  both  versions.  In  the  third  battle,  where  Ille  com- 
mands as  acting  seneschal,  the  differences  are  more  numerous, 
though  of  little  importance:  135  lines  are  dropped,  16  added. 

After  P.  3504,  the  following  new  lines  add  clearness  to  the 
emperor's  offer: 

2674    Ma  fille  aura  a  son  deport 

Et  tolt  1'empire  aprie"s  ma  mort. 

The  next  important  changes  are  in  the  scene  in  which  the 
messengers  report  their  vain  search  for  Galeron.  The  Wollaton 
manuscript  omits  the  entire  speech  in  which  Ille  laments  his  loss 
(3897-3938),  as  well  as  the  26  lines  in  which  is  related  Ganor's 
eagerness  for  a  speedy  wedding  (3956-79).  In  the  account  of  the 
festivities  on  the  eve  of  the  wedding,  one  adds  to  the  list  of  quota- 
tions attesting  the  popularity  of  the  Breton  lais: 

3094  (P.  3984)     Cil  jogleor  harpent  et  notent, 
Vielent  et  cantent  et  rotent 
Ces  lais  bretons  entros  qu'en  son. 

In  the  scene  at  the  church  door,  the  Wollaton  manuscript  omits 
the  31  lines  (P.  4225-55)  in  which  Galeron  expatiates  upon  the 
prayers  she  will  offer  for  Ille  if  he  will  place  her  in  a  convent,  and 
substitutes  for  them  five  of  a  more  worldly  and  realistic  type : 

3344    "Se  tos  li  mondes  ert  a  moi 

Ne  me  valroit  il  rien  sans  toi 
Ne  me  poroie  joie  atendre." 

Cil  le  voit  bele  et  blance  et  tendre 
Et  voit  le  cors  bien  fait  et  gent. 
Ja  le  baisast  devant  la  gent  (P.  4256). 

In  the  account  of  Ille's  second  visit  to  Italy,  several  scenes  are 
amplified.  The  messenger  who  informs  him  of  the  abduction  of 
Ganor  gives  him  directions  as  to  the  best  means  of  waylaying  the 
abductors.  The  attack  and  the  rescue  are  described  in  greater 
detail,  60  new  lines  appearing.  Twenty-eight  additional  lines  by 
way  of  summary,  and  28  in  further  description  of  the  joy  of  the  newly 
wedded  pair  and  their  court,  mark  the  remaining  important  additions 
to  the  body  of  the  poem.  The  30  new  lines  of  prologue  will  be  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  Professor  Sheldon's  article. 


10  THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

In  his  interesting  and  illuminating  discussion,  Professor  Sheldon 
attacks  the  generally  accepted  dating  of  Ille.  He  criticizes  Foerster's 
statement  that  the  poem  must  have  been  composed  shortly  after 
the  Roman  coronation,  August  1,  1167,  mentioned  in  verse  69,1 
and  pleads  for  a  later  date.  He  considers  that  the  critics  who  have 
given  1167  or  1168  as  the  date  of  the  poem  have  failed  to  prove  their 
point.  I  agree  with  him  that  the  only  points  absolutely  fixed  are 
1164  as  the  earliest  date  for  Eracle,  1167  the  earliest  for  Ille,  1191 
the  latest  for  Eracle,  and  1184  the  latest  for  Ille;  but  I  do  not 
quite  follow  his  argument  for  a  later  date  for  Ille.  He  says  first 
(p.  385)  that  the  poet's  reference  in  the  prologue  to  the  coronation 
does  not  preclude  a  much  later  date  than  1167,  as  the  coronation  was 
important  enough  to  be  mentioned  at  any  time;  second,  that  it  is 
doubtful  if  Gautier  would  have  written  his  prologue,  or  retained  it  if 
written,  while  the  Empress  was  in  Italy  or  during  the  flight  from 
Rome,  because  she  would  not  have  been  in  a  receptive  mood  for  the 
poet's  offering  then  or  for  some  years  after,  perhaps  not  till  1174,  or 
even  until  after  1178.  Professor  Sheldon  himself  is  not  fully  satisfied 
with  the  validity  of  this  argument,  for  he  says  (p.  391) : 

The  tantalizing  lines  9*-18*,  with  what  may  have  immediately  preceded 
them,  seem  to  allude  to  something  that  caused  an  absence  which  led  him  to 
consider  another  patron,  though  he  had  not  lost  hope  of  some  recognition 
from  the  Empress.2  Did  he  perhaps  begin  his  poem  while  the  Empress  was 
in  Italy,  hoping  for  her  return  before  or  soon  after  its  completion,  and  then 
because  this  return  was  delayed  (in  which  case  we  should  naturally  think 
of  her  stay  of  nearly  four  years  in  Italy,  1174-78),  or  because  he  had  some 
other  reason,  whatever  it  was,  did  he  finish  with  praise  of  the  count  as  well 
as  of  her?  Whatever  had  happened,  it  looks  as  if  a  fairly  long  interval 
elapsed  between  beginning  and  end. 

This  latter  point  of  view  (except  for  the  dates  1174-78)  seems  to 
me  the  more  nearly  correct.  The  poet  was  about  to  compose  his 
work  in  honor  of  the  new  Empress.  He  was  determined  to  win  as 
much  favor  as  those  poets  who  had  known  her  longer,  but,  for  some 
reason,  in  his  epilogue  he  changed  his  dedication  to  another  patron, 
Thibaut,  whom  he  applauded  as  her  equal.  Was  not  this  action 
eminently  appropriate  to  the  black  days  after  the  coronation  and 

1  W.  25,  "  Rome  le  vit  ja  coroner. " 

1  The  lines  are  less  obscure  if  7*  and  8*  are  placed  before  5*,  according  to  a  suggestion 
made  by  Professor  T.  A.  Jenkins. 


THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON"  11 

the  flight  from  Italy  ?  If  Beatrice  had  been  in  a  mood  for  generosity, 
the  poet  would  have  had  no  reason  to  seek  another  patron.  But, 
as  Professor  Sheldon  himself  says,  there  is  nothing  conclusive  about 
any  of  this  argument.  There  is,  however,  a  possibility  of  narrowing 
down  somewhat  the  question  of  the  date.  Professor  Sheldon  is 
convinced  from  verses  6592-1  * : 

W.  5805    Gaiters  d' Arras  qui  s'entremist 

D'Eracle  ains  qu'il  fesist  cest  uevre, 

that  Eracle  was  written  before  Ille.  I  think  that  the  definitions  of 
the  verb  s'entremetre  given  in  Godefroy  will  bear  me  out  in  my  claim 
that  the  only  thing  proved  by  these  lines  is  that  Gautier  began 
Eracle  first.  The  text  of  Eracle  bears  the  marks  of  having  been 
written  in  three  different  parts,  of  which  at  least  one  was  written 
after  Ille.  This  opinion  is  strengthened  by  evidence  in  the  Wollaton 
manuscript.  The  argument  for  the  conclusion  that  Ille  was  finished 
before  Eracle  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows: 

For  Eracle  there  were  three  patrons  or  three  phases  of  patronage : 
(1)  Thibaut  V  of  Blois,  alone  mentioned  in  the  prologue;  (2)  Thibaut 
and  Marie  of  Champagne,  his  sister-in-law,  mentioned  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  epilogue;  (3)  Baudouin  of  Hainaut,  mentioned  in  the 
epilogue  as  cause  of  the  poem's  completion  and  the  person  to  whom 
it  was  being  sent. 

For  Ille  there  are  two  patrons :  (1)  Beatrice  of  Burgundy,  Empress 
of  Germany,  alone  mentioned  in  the  prologue;  (2)  Beatrice  and 
Thibaut,  mentioned  in  the  epilogue,  the  former  as  the  cause  of  the 
beginning  of  the  work,  the  latter  as  the  cause  of  its  completion. 

If  we  accepted  the  theory  that  Eracle  was  completed  before  Ille, 
we  should  be  obliged  to  take  with  it  not  only  the  conclusion  that 
Gautier  broke  off  with  Thibaut  and  Marie,  and  finished  Eracle  for 
Baudouin,  but  also  that  he  thereupon  began  a  work  for  Beatrice, 
deserted  her,  and  returned  to  his  former  patron  Thibaut.  Is  this 
probable  ?  I  am  convinced  that  Ille  must  have  been  completed  during 
the  period  when  Gautier  was  working  for  the  Champagne-Blois 
group  arid  before  he  attached  himself  to  Baudouin,  consequently 
that  Ille,  while  begun  later  than  Eracle,  was  completed  before  it. 

We  are  now  confronted  with  the  question  as  to  whether  the  last 
patron  is  Baudouin  IV  or  Baudouin  V:  if  the  former,  both  poems 


12  THE  NEW  MANUSCRIPT  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

must  be  placed  before  1171,  the  year  of  his  death.  That  would 
allow  a  margin  of  four  years  from  1167,  the  year  of  the  coronation, 
when  Thibaut's  interest  in  Ille  had  not  yet  been  sought.  The 
closer  Era.de  is  placed  to  the  later  date,  the  farther  may  Ille  be 
removed  from  llt>7,  but  at  the  extreme  outside  it  could  hardly  be 
later  than  1170.  In  case  Baudouin  V  is  the  patron,  the  problem 
is  no  nearer  settlement  than  before,  1184  for  Ille  and  1191  for  Eracle 
being  the  limits. 

Foerster  preferred  Baudouin  IV,  considering  Baudouin  V  as 
too  young.1  Professor  Sheldon  states  that  this  choice  "is  of  doubtful 
correctness,"  but  does  not  give  his  reasons.  I  hope  I  have  shown 
that  his  whole  plea  for  a  later  date  for  Ille  depends  upon  that  choice 
being  incorrect.  In  my  own  investigation  of  the  subject,  I  have 
preferred  Baudouin  V,  largely  for  the  reasons  that  he  was  known 
as  a  patron  of  letters,  while  his  father  was  not;  that  he  was  brother- 
in-law  of  that  well-known  literary  patron,  Philip  of  Flanders;  and 
that  he  was  in  decidedly  close  relations  with  the  courts  of  Cham- 
pagne, Blois,  and  France.  But  the  whole  matter  still  rests  upon  too 
slender  a  basis  of  evidence  to  be  at  all  satisfactory.2 

» Ille  und  Oaleron  von  Walter  ton  Arras,  herausgegeben  von  Wendelin  Foerster, 
Halle,  1891,  pp.  xv-xvi. 

2  The  following  errors  occur  in  the  report  of  the  British  Manuscripts  Commission 
and  were  reproduced  by  Professor  Sheldon  in  his  paper: 

Page  388,  verse  3.  com,  manuscript  con.  pens,  MS  reads  pens. 

"Our  poem  begins  on  folio  158  recto,  etc."  It  actually  begins  on  folio  157  recto 
and  ends  on  folio  187  verso. 

Page  389.      P.  6579  (W.  5790)  o  non.      MS  anor. 

Page  390.  6*  En  vie,  MS  Envie.  18*  me,  MS  m  =m'en.  11*.  15*.  and  22*  MS 
reads  q  =que. 

Page  391.     25*  MS  reads  liu. 

Par  and  never  pur  is  found  in  the  manuscript  wherever  unabbreviated.  M' It  is 
never  written  out,  but  is  found  once  in  rhyme  with  tolt,  i.e.,  tout. 


THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON"  13 


Much  as  has  been  written  upon  the  sources  of  the  Ille  et  Galeron 
of  Gautier  d'Arras,  there  is  room  for  additional  work.  Along  what 
line  it  can  be  most  profitably  directed,  I  hope  to  point  out  in  this 
article. 

The  sources  of  the  Ille  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  two 
groups:  (1)  written  literary  sources  and  (2)  contemporary  historical 
events  or  court  gossip.  The  written  sources  have  been  extensively 
discussed  by  Paris,1  Foerster,2  and  Matzke,3  and  I  shall  merely  sum 
up  their  conclusions  with  my  own  deductions  added. 

Gautier  himself  gives  his  source  as  an  estore*  and  claims  to  have 
followed  it  faithfully.  But  scholars  are  inclined  to  accept  two  works 
as  written  sources,  the  Chronique  de  Nantes5  and  Marie  de  France's 
Lai  d'Eliduc.6 

Ferdinand  Lot7  argues  that  "le  commencement,  les  1500  premiers 
vers  environ,  repose  sur  un  fondement  historique  tres  de'figure',  re"el 
cependant."  He  then  relates  from  the  Chronique  de  Nantes  the  inci- 

1  Gaston  Paris,  La  Poesie  du  moyen-age,  2«  sfirie  (Paris,  1895),  pp.  109-30;  Histoire 
litteraire,  XXX  (1888),  9,  600;  La  Litterature  francaise  au  moyen-age  (1888),  p.  113; 
Romania  XXI  (1892),  275-81;  Journal  des  savants  (1901),  p.  706. 

J  Wendelin  Foerster,  in  the  introduction  to  Ille  und  Galeron  von  Walter  von  Arras, 
Rom.  Bibl.  7,  Halle,  1891. 

1  J.  E.  Matzke,  "The  Source  and  Composition  of  Ille  et  Galeron,"  Modern  Philology, 
IV  (1907),  471-88;  "The  Lay  of  Eliduc  and  the  Legend  of  the  Husband  with  Two 
Wives,"  ibid.,  V  (1907),  211-39. 

«  P(aris)  6590  "Ne  en  1'estore  plus  n'en  aut; 

Ne  plus  n'i  a,  ne  plus  n'i  mist 
Gautier  d'Arras,"  etc. 
W(ollaton)  5803         "Ne  en  1'estorie  plus  n'en  ot, 

Ne  plus  n'en  a,  ne  plus  n'i  mist 
Gaiters  d'Arras,"  etc. 

6  Ren6  Merlet,  Chronique  de  Nantes,  "Collection  de  textes  pour  servir  a  l'6tude  et 
a  1'enseignement  de  1'histoire."  XLX,  Paris,  1896. 

•  Karl  Warnke,  Die  Lais  der  Marie  de  France,  Bibl.  Norm.  Ill,  Halle,  1900. 

7  Ferdinand   Lot,  "Une  source  historique  d'lile  et  Galeron,"  Romania,  XXV  (1896), 
585-88. 


14  THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

dent  of  the  assassination  in  981  of  Hoel,  count  of  Nantes,  by  Galuron, 
emissary  of  Conan,  count  of  Rennes,  and  concludes: 

En  somme,  les  comtes  de  Nantes  et  de  Rennes  et  leurs  vassaux  out  6t6 
1'objet,  au  X*  siecle,  de  remits  ^piques  en  langue  fransaise  tout  comme  ceux 
des  autres  provinces.  Le  d6but  d'llle  et  Galeron  me  parait  en  avoir  consent 
un  souvenir  loin  tain.  Galuron,  he"ros  d'un  de  ces  remits,  aura  du  h  sa  cele1- 
brit£  m§me  d'etre  gratifi6  du  role  bien  different  d'Eliduc.1 

Lot's  opinion  has  been  quite  universally  accepted. 

It  is  not  so  with  the  question  of  Marie's  Eliduc  as  principal  source. 
On  this  subject  there  are  two  main  schools,  the  French,  which  follows 
G.  Paris'  opinion  that  a  lost  lai  of  Eliduc  served  as  common  source  for 
Marie's  poem  and  Gautier's;2  and  the  German  school,  headed  by 
W.  Foerster,3  which  maintains  that  Ille  et  Galeron  is  based  directly 
on  Marie's  Eliduc  and  is  intended  to  be  a  moral  re-working  of  the 
theme. 

Gaston  Paris4  bases  his  opinion  on  the  fact  that  the  episode  of 
the  injured  eye,  upon  which  hinges  the  whole  action  of  the  Ille,  is 
absent  from  the  Eliduc.  Paris  is  undoubtedly  right  if  we  can  accept 
at  full  value  Gautier's  statement  about  his  estore.  If  he  is  faithfully 
following  it,  Marie's  Eliduc  cannot  be  the  direct  source.  And  if  we 
do  not  admit  Gautier's  statement,  we  do  not  exclude  the  possibility 
that  he  had  another  source  either  in  common  with  or  different  from 
the  Eliduc.  But  Foerster's  view  has  great  plausibility.  The  two 
poems  have  great  similarity  of  plot  and  incidents,  though  the  motive 
for  leaving  court  seems  at  first  thought  to  be  quite  different.  Eliduc 
leaves  court  through  loss  of  favor,  and,  tired  of  idleness  at  home, 
goes  abroad  to  find  military  activity.  Ille  loses  an  eye  (in  a  tourna- 
ment in  P.,  in  a  war  in  W.)  and  will  not  return  through  a  mingled 
pride  and  humility.  He  seeks  military  service  abroad  to  re-establish 
his  prestige  and  self-respect.  The  loss  of  the  eye  is  a  symbol  of  loss 
of  prestige  at  court,  and  according  to  the  Ovidian  love  casuistry  as 
expounded  in  the  Courts  of  Love5  a  symbol  of  the  loss  of  ability  to 
love.  The  loss  of  prestige  in  each  case  brings  about  the  temporary 

1  Op.  cit.,  p.  588. 

2  La  Literature  franyaise  au  moyen-age,  p.  113. 

»  Foerster,  op.  cit.  *  Romania,  XXI,  278. 

'Andreas  Capellanus,  De  Amore,  ed.  E.  Trojel,  Havniae,  1892. 


THE  SOURCES  OF  "  ILLE  ET  GALERON  " 


15 


separation  of  husband  and  wife  and  leads  to  the  introduction  of  the 
second  woman.  The  other  important  incident  which  makes  possible 
the  hero's  second  marriage  is  quite  different  in  the  two  poems. 
Galeron's  accomplished  vow  after  recovery  from  the  perils  of  child- 
birth replaces  the  shipwreck  and  resuscitation  of  Guilliadun;  the 
realistic  replaces  the  miraculous  and  magical,  and  civilized  morality 
is  strictly  observed. 

Without  going  more  fully  into  this  question,  I  give  a  tabular 
comparison  of  the  similarities,  and  also,  that  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
Ille  is  not  merely  an  expanded  copy  of  the  Eliduc,  of  the  differences 
as  well.  Matzke  did  this  to  some  extent  in  his  articles,  but  since 
he  was  bent  upon  upholding  G.  Paris'  theory,  he  did  not  draw  the 
fullest  possible  conclusions  from  the  material. 


ELIDUC 

1.  Source  stated  as  a  lai,  verses 
1-4 

2.  Eliduc  is  hero 

3.  The  wives  are  Guildeluec  and 
Guilliadun 

4.  Eliduc  is  vassal  of  the  king  of 
Bretagne 

5.  Eliduc  is  seneschal  of  the  king 
of  Bretagne 

6.  Eliduc    leaves    for    a    foreign 
country 

7.  He  goes  to  Lougres  in  Britain 

(Alliteration  and  similarity  of  spelling) 

8.  Eliduc  offers  his  services  to  an 
aged  king  who  has  a  daughter  as 
sole  heir  and  is  being  attacked  by  a 
rejected  suitor 

9.  Eliduc  defeats  the  enemy  and 
is  made  guardian  of  the  land 

10.  King's  daughter  falls  in  love 
with  Eliduc 


ILLE  ET  GALERON1 

Poem  called  a  lai  (W.  73) .  Doubt- 
ful whether  reference  to  lai  in  P. 
929  is  to  source. 

Ille,  the  hero,  is  son  of  Eliduc 
(P.  134) 

The  wives  are  Galeron  and  Ganor 
(epic  alliteration) 

Ille  is  vassal  of  the  duke  of 
Bretagne 

Ille  is  seneschal  of  the  duke  of 
Bretagne 

Ille  leaves  for  a  foreign  country 

He  goes  to  Langres  (MS  Lengres) 
in  Burgundy  on  way  to  Rome 

Ille  offers  his  services  to  an  old 
emperor  who  has  a  daughter  as 
sole  heir  and  is  being  attacked  (2001- 
5238).  In  the  second  war  this 
enemy  is  a  rejected  suitor  (5403) 

Ille  defeats  the  enemy  and  is  made 
seneschal 

Emperor's  daughter  falls  in  love 
with  Ille 


1  I  omit  mention  of  Ille  et  Galeron  to  vs.  927  (Paris),  as  this  part  must  have  had 
another  source,  as  Lot  suggested. 


16 


THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 


ELIDUC 

11.  Report  that  lands  at  home  are 
laid  waste 

12.  Eliduc  informs  king  that  he 
must  return  home 

13.  King     offers     part     of     his 
inheritance 

14.  Eliduc    promises    to    return 
with  aid  in  case  of  need 

15.  Eliduc  goes  to  take  leave  of 
Guilliadun 

16.  She  faints  in  his  arms 

17.  When  she  comes  to,  he  prom- 
ises to  return  if  she  sends  for  him 

18.  He  kisses  her  on  leaving 

19.  He  is  received  at  home  with 
great  joy 

20.  He  pacifies  the  land 

21.  He  returns  to  the  land  of  the 
second  woman 

22.  He  marries  Guilliadun  (at  his 
home) 

23.  Guildeluec  enters  a  convent  (at 
end  of  story) 


ILLE  ET  GALERON 

Report  that  lands  at  home  are 
laid  waste 

Ille  informs  emperor  that  he  must 
return  home 

Emperor  offers  part  of  his  posses- 
sions 

Ille  promises  to  return  in  case  of 
need 

Ille  goes  to  take  leave  of  Ganor 

She  faints  in  his  arms 

When  she  comes  to,  he  promises 
to  return  if  he  hears  that  she  is  in 
danger 

He  kisses  her  on  leaving 

He  is  received  at  home  with  great 
joy 

He  pacifies  the  land 

He  returns  to  the  land  of  the 
second  woman 

He  marries  Ganor  (at  Rome) 

Galeron  enters  a  convent  (before 
Ille  thinks  of  loving  Ganor) 


The  principal  differences  are  as  follows : 

ELIDUC 
1.  Length  1,184  lines 


Length 


2.  Hero    already   married.    Ban- 
ished from  court  through  slander  of 
enemies 

3.  Liege  lord  is  king  of  Bretagne 

4.  Wife's  family  not  mentioned 

5.  Hero   does   not   wish   inactive 
life  at  home 

6.  Hero  goes  to  Britain 

7.  Goes  with  10  knights 

8.  Guildeluec  stays  at  home  and 
governs  estates 

9.  Enemy  is  rejected  suitor 


ILLE  ET  GALERON 
Paris  MS  6,592  lines 
Wollaton  MS  5,835  lines 

Treats  of  courtship  and  marriage 
of  Ille  and  Galeron.  Hero  success- 
ful over  enemies  (after  childhood 
banishment) 

Liege  lord  is  duke  of  Bretagne 

Ille  marries  duke's  sister 

Hero  loses  eye  in  tournament  (or 
war)  and  leaves  through  pride  and 
humility 

Hero  goes  to  Rome 

Goes  alone  and  incognito 

Galeron  searches  for  her  husband 

Enemy  is  seemingly  political  in 
first  campaign,  but  is  suitor  in  second 


THE  SOURCES  OF  "  ILLE  ET  GALERON 


17 


ELI  DUG 

10.  Eliduc  binds  himself  for  one 
year. 

11.  Accepts  advances  of  princess, 
conceals  fact  that  he  is  married 


12.  Is  offered  third  of  kingdom 

13.  Eliduc  summoned  home  by  his 
lord  to  help  him 

14.  Eliduc  sad  at  leaving  Guillia- 
dun,  kisses  her  while  she  is  in  faint. 
Refuses  to  take  her  merely  because 
he  cannot  honorably.     Promises  to 
return  at  her  request.    They  exchange 
love  tokens  on  parting 

15.  Eliduc  sad  at  home.     Wishes 
to  end  war  and  return   to   Britain 
as  soon  as  possible.    No  children  of 
first  marriage  mentioned 

16.  Eliduc    goes    to    Britain    to 
abduct  Guilliadun 

17.  Guilliadun  leaves  home  when 
sent  for  by  Eliduc  to  come  to  his 
ship 

18.  She    learns    of    his    marriage 
through  incident  in  storm  at  sea 

19.  Trance   of    Guilliadun. 
Brought  to  by  Guildeluec  through 
red  flower.    Agreement  of  wife  to 
enter  convent  makes  second  marriage 
possible 

20.  Eliduc  desires  second  marriage 

21.  Eliduc  abducts  Guilliadun 

22.  No  fighting  on  Eliduc's  second 
visit  to  Britain 

23.  Eliduc  does  not  gain  in  rank 

24.  No  children   of  second   mar- 
riage mentioned 

25.  Eliduc  and  Guilliadun  go  to 
convent  to  end  their  days 

26.  Ages  and  lapses  of  time  left 
indefinite 


ILLE  ET  GALERON 

Ille  binds  himself  for  an  unlimited 
time 

Declines  advances  of  princess. 
Tells  of  his  lost  wife.  Consents  to 
marry  only  when  messengers  have 
scoured  country  in  vain  for  Galeron 

Is  offered  half  of  empire  and 
Ganor,  and  all  after  emperor's  death 

Ille  returns  because  of  recovery  of 
Galeron 

Ille  sad  for  Ganor,  but  would  not 
give  up  Galeron  for  her.  Promises 
to  return  if  he  hears  she  needs  protec- 
tion. Kisses  her  on  parting  through 
pity  only 

Ille  happy  as  duke  of  Bretagne. 
Wife  has  three  children,  but  makes 
vow  to  become  nun  and  therefore  can 
no  longer  be  his  wife 

Ille  goes  to  Rome  on  hearing  of  a 
Greek  invasion 

Ganor  comes  to  Bretagne  to  ask 
Ille's  aid  against  the  Greeks 

Ganor  has  known  of  Ille's  mar- 
riage since  his  first  visit  to  Rome 

Fear  of  death  in  childbirth  causes 
vow  to  go  to  convent  which  makes 
second  marriage  possible 


Ille  becomes  ill  over  loss  of 
Galeron 

Ille  rescues  Ganor  from  abductors 

Ille  defeats  Greeks  and  drives 
them  from  Italy  on  second  visit 

Ille  becomes  emperor 

Four  children  by  Ganor 

Ille  and  Ganor  left  at  height  of 
their  happiness 

Ages  and  lapses  of  time  definite 


18  THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

The  close  similarity  of  plot  and  incidents,  with  the  connection  of 
the  name  Ilk,  le  fil  Eliduc,  points  definitely  to  the  lai  of  Eliduc  as 
the  chief  source  of  the  Ille.  I  do  not  think  that  the  two  poems  come 
from  a  common  original.  No  poem  has  been  found  which  contains 
more  than  a  general  similarity  of  plot,  nor  which  contains  the  ship- 
wreck and  resuscitation  scenes  in  addition  to  the  incidents  common 
to  the  Ille  and  the  Eliduc.  The  differences  are  partly  substitutions  of 
realistic  elements  for  the  fantastic,  partly  the  result  of  using  certain 
elements  of  the  Eliduc  lai  twice  in  order  to  expand  the  poem  to  a 
suitable  length,  and  partly  from  the  use  of  contemporary  historical 
and  other  source  material. 

Moreover,  Marie  states  in  the  prologue  of  her  Eliduc  that  she  is 
giving  the  cunte  et  toute  la  raisun  of  a  very  ancient  Breton  lai  that  it 
may  not  be  forgotten.  Gautier  says  that  he  is  following  his  estore 
closely.1  If  we  believe  both  Marie  and  Gautier,  the  poems  cannot 
have  a  common  source  and  Paris'  theory  is  untenable.  Gautier  in 
all  probability  knows  the  lais  of  Marie,  for  in  lines  929  ff.,2  he  objects 
to  the  popularity  of  the  lais  which  smack  of  unreality,  and  Marie's 
collection  is  the  only  one  known  to  have  been  in  existence  early 
enough  for  him  to  have  used. 

If  Marie's  Eliduc  is  not  Gautier's  source,  it  (i.e.,  the  estore)  must 
be  a  re-working  of  her  poem  made  by  another  contemporary  poet, 
for  it  was  only  in  the  latter  third  of  the  twelfth  century  that  it  became 
the  style  to  revise  the  old  tales  thus.  It  is  much  easier  to  believe 
that  Gautier  made  an  adaptation  of  Marie's  Eliduc  than  that  he 
copied  a  contemporary,  unless  he  were  translating  from  the  Latin. 
In  that  case,  he  would  probably  have  boasted  of  the  fact,  as  in  the 
Erode,3  where  he  says  that  he  is  going  to  tell  a  story  en  romanz* 
and  later,  introducing  Part  III,  he  states 

5148    Signeur,  nous  lisons  en  latin 

1  This  has  always  been  the  interpretation.     But  his  lines  taken  literally  mean  merely 
that  he  ends  where  his  source  ends,  i.e.,  he  does  not  add  anything  to  the  ending. 

2  P.  929  "  Li  lais  ne  fust  pas  si  en  cours, 

Nel  prisaissent  tot  li  baron. 
Grant  cose  est  d'llle  a  Galeron: 
N'i  a  fantome  ne  alonge, 
Ne  ja  n'i  troveres  menconge. 
Tex  lais  i  a,  qui  les  entent, 
Se  li  sanlent  tot  ensement 
Con  s'elist  dormi  et  songieV' 

'  Oeuvres  de  Gautier  d'Arras,  Tome  I,  published  by  E.  Loseth,  Paris,  1890. 

<  Vs.  103.  I  hesitate  to  use  this,  as  it  is  questionable  whether  the  reading  should 
not  be  el  TO  mam. 


THE  SOURCES  OF  "  ILLE  ET  GALERON  "  19 

In  addition  to  these  two  important  written  sources,  there  is 
evidence  of  probable  influence  in  (1)  the  proper  names,  (2)  the 
Ovidian  love  psychology,  and  (3)  the  features  of  style  and  versi- 
fication. Those  of  Gautier's  proper  names  which  do  not  occur  in 
the  Eliduc  and  the  Chronique  de  Nantes  may  possibly  be  taken  from 
Wace's  Brut  and  Ron,  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth's  Historia  Regum  Bri- 
tanniae,  the  Eneas,  Troie,  Thebes,  Tristan  and  the  earlier  Chansons 
de  Geste,  including  especially  the  Roland  and  the  Antioche.  The 
itineraries  are  the  regular  routes  for  trade  and  pilgrimage  from 
France  to  the  Orient.  The  love  psychology,  derived  from  Ovid,1 
developed  by  the  Provengal  poets  and  popularized  in  the  north  of 
France  in  the  Eneas,  is  in  full  flower  here.  The  source  of  Gautier's 
versification  and  style  is  probably  directly  in  Wace,  indirectly  in  the 
Chansons  de  Geste  and  the  Provencal  love  lyrics.2 

These  are  the  obvious  and  more  easily  demonstrable  sources, 
but  we  may  well  ask  ourselves  whether  the  origin  of  many  episodes 
over  which  scholars  puzzle  and  wrangle  may  not  profitably  be  sought 
in  the  milieu  of  the  poet. 

In  1842,  Massmann3  first  called  attention  to  similarities  in 
Gautier's  two  poems  between  incidents  in  the  lives  of  Eleanor  of 
Poitou  and  Louis  VII  and  of  Beatrice  of  Burgundy  and  Frederick 
Barbarossa.  Later  critics  were  inclined  to  scoff  at  Massmann,  but  a 
careful  study  of  the  known  facts  in  the  lives  of  these  persons  with  the 
more  accurate  historical  information  which  we  now  have  available, 
tends  to  justify  Massmann  in  his  conviction  and  to  convince  us  that 
if  these  lives  were  not  drawn  upon  either  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
the  similarities  form  a  striking  series  of  coincidences. 

Now  what  was  Gautier's  milieu?  He  was  court  poet  of  (1) 
Thibaut  of  Blois,  who  was  husband  of  Alix,  second  daughter  of 
King  Louis  VII;  he  wrote  (2)  for  Marie,  sister  of  Alix  and  wife  of 
Count  Henri  I  of  Champagne,  brother  of  Thibaut;  (3)  for  Baudouin 
V  of  Hainaut,  brother-in-law4  of  Philip  of  Flanders,  regent  of  France; 

1  See  Wilibad  Schroetter,  Ovid  und  die  Troubadours,  Halle,  1908. 

1  See  F.  M.  Warren,  "Some  Features  of  Style  in  Early  French  Narrative  Poetry," 
Modern  Philology,  III.  179-209  (October,  1905),  and  513-39  (April,  1900):  IV,  055-75 
(April,  19O7). 

1  H.  F.  Massmann,  Eracliue,  Deutsches  und  framOsisches  Gedicht  des  1%.  Jhts,  etc., 
Quedlinburg  and  Leipzig,  1842. 

«  We  are  not  sure  whether  the  patron  was  Baudouin  V  or  his  father  Baudouin  IV. 
See  above,  pp.  11-12. 


20  THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

and  (4)  for  Beatrice  of  Burgundy,  second  wife  of  Frederick  Bar- 
barossa.  From  his  connection  with  all  these  patrons,  Gautier  had 
excellent  facilities  for  keeping  up  with  the  popular  form  of  poetry 
and  the  latest  scandal  of  the  great.  Is  it  not  probable  that  he  made 
use  of  a  considerable  amount  of  court  gossip,  and  also  of  facts  taken 
from  the  lives  of  those  to  whom  he  dedicated  his  poems  ? 

Both  Alix  and  Marie  were  true  daughters  of  the  famous  Eleanor 
of  Poitou.  Granddaughter  of  William  IX,  the  first  troubador, 
Eleanor  brought  her  southern  literature  and  her  poets  to  the  court 
of  France  when  she  married  Louis  VII  in  1137.1  She  established 
and  presided  over  the  so-called  "Courts  of  Love."  Since  Eleanor 
encouraged  in  every  way  the  poets  and  troubadors,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  incidents  of  her  fervent  prayers  for  the  birth  of  a  male  heir,2 
her  alleged  adultery,3  and  her  attempted  abduction  by  Thibaut  V 
of  Blois  and  Geoffrey  Plantagenet4  after  her  divorce  from  Louis5 
should  be  touched  upon  and  developed  in  literature.  The  allusions 
to  Eleanor,  more  open  in  the  Eracle,  are  rather  veiled  in  the  Hie. 
The  most  obvious  is  that  of  the  attempted  abductions  of  Galeron 
(P.  1539-71)  and  Ganor  (P.  6125-6530). 6 

Much  more  evident  are  the  incidents  which  correspond  with 
events  in  the  lives  of  Thibaut,  the  patron,  and  Barbarossa,  husband 
of  the  patroness.  The  Ille  was  begun  for  Beatrice  and  finished  for 
Thibaut.7  What  more  natural  for  Gautier  than  to  laud  in  thinly 
disguised  language  the  exploits  of  his  patroness'  imperial  husband  or 
those  of  the  Grand  Seneschal  of  France  ? 

Thibaut  was  Grand  Seneschal  of  France,  Ille  of  Bretagne  and 
later  of  Rome;  both  were  twice  married  and  had  seven  children. 
Thibaut's  grandmother  became  a  nun  because  of  grief  over  the  death 
of  a  daughter  and  a  sister  also  took  the  veil;  Ille's  first  wife,  because 
of  a  vow,  became  a  nun  after  the  birth  of  a  daughter. 

1  Alfred  Richard,  Histoire  des  Comtes  de  Poitou,  778-1204,  Vol.  II  (Paris,  1903). 

2  Arbois  de  Jubainville,  Histoire  des   Dues  et  des   Comtes  de   Champagne,  II  (Paris, 
1859-66),  379. 

» Richard,  op.  cit.,  II,  93. 
« Ibid.,  p.  108. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  107. 

«  Cf.  Cliges,  2859-70  and  3621-3816. 
i  Wollaton  5828          "  Por  qant  por  li  le  commencai 
Et  por  le  conte  le  flnai." 


THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 


21 


The  parallels  are  still  more  numerous  with  the  life  of  Frederick 
Barbarossa.1 


BARBAROSSA 

1.  Father  known  as  "one-eyed"2 

2.  Two      successful      campaigns 
against  Greeks:    the  first  in  Third 
Crusade  when,  a  youth,  he  accom- 
panied his  uncle  Conrad  III  to  Holy 
Land;    the   second  as   Roman   em- 
peror at  Ancona  and  Tusculum 

3.  Repudiated  first  wife  Adelaide 
von  Vohburg,  either  for  adultery  or 
consanguinity 

4.  Second     wife     was     Beatrice, 
heiress    of    Burgundy,     whom    he 
rescued  from  her  uncle,  who  planned 
to  deprive  her  of  her  estates.     Her 
father  was  dead 

5.  Historical  Greek  emperor 
wished  to  rule  Rome  and  unite  the 
Greek  and  Roman  churches.     Had 
been  married  to  aunt  of  Barbarossa 

6.  Hohenstaufen  arms  three  lions 


ILLE 

Lost  eye  in  a  tournament  or  war 
Two  successful  campaigns  against 
Greeks:  the  first  as  an  unknown 
and  laughed-at  young  esquire  with 
one  eye  gone;  the  second  as  Duke 
of  Brittany  (at  first  incognito) 


Repudiated    first    wife 
when  she  became  a  nun 


Galeron 


Second  wife  was  Ganor,  daughter 
of  Roman  emperor,  whom  he  res- 
cued from  Greek  emperor,  who 
wished  to  marry  her  for  her  estates. 
Her  father  was  dead 

Greek  emperor  of  romance  wished 
Rome,  to  unite  the  two  empires.  His 
first  wife  was  a  relative  of  Ganor  and 
died  from  cruel  treatment  of  husband 

Ille's  arms  a  lion  (ducal  arms  of 
Brittany  a  gold  lion) 

Ille's  army  contained  Germans  and 
Romans 


7.  Frederick  had  Germans  and 
Romans  in  his  army  in  his  second 
campaign 

These  points  of  similarity  seem  to  me  to  show  that  Gautier 
intended  Beatrice  to  see  her  noble  husband  in  Ille.  He  tastefully 
softened  down  the  sensitive  points  in  Frederick's  career — lack  of 
children  by  the  first  marriage  and  the  cause  of  his  divorce — so  as  to 
make  them  inoffensive,  though  these  second  marriages  after  separa- 
tion (the  ostensible  cause  of  separation  was  usually  forbidden  degrees 
of  consanguinity)  were  so  common  among  the  nobles  at  that  time  as 
to  make  this  seem  unnecessary. 

Whether  Gautier  obtained  his  impressions  of  court  life,  history, 
and  geography  from  direct  observation  or  by  hearsay,  we  cannot 
tell.  His  descriptions  of  the  places  he  mentions  are  too  sketchy  to 

•See  Hans  Prutz,  Kaiser  Friedrich  I,  3  vols.,  Danzig,  1871.  Also  Massmann, 
op.  cit.,  pp.  544  ft*. 

!  Prutz,  op.  cit.,  "Sein  Sohn  Friedrich  der  Einaiigige "I,  0. 


22  THE  SOURCES  OF  "!LLE  ET  GALERON" 

enable  us  to  determine.  Assuming  that  Gautier  lived  at  Thibaut's 
court  and  not  in  his  own  home  or  in  a  monastery,  we  may  reason- 
ably assert  that  he  accompanied  Thibaut  on  some  of  his  frequent 
visits  to  the  courts  of  Louis  and  Henri.  The  poet  may  even  have 
gone  on  the  Crusades  with  the  Champagne  nobles  or  he  may 
have  been  with  the  embassy  which  Henri  sent  to  the  court  of  Bar- 
barossa  in  Italy  in  1167-68.  The  Ille  may  very  easily  have  been 
begun  or  in  large  part  composed  on  that  occasion. 

The  prologue  mentions  the  coronation  at  Rome,  August  1,  1167, 
and  the  epilogue  names  Thibaut  as  well  as  Beatrice.  The  poet  had 
one  or  both  of  these  patrons  in  mind  all  the  time  he  was  composing 
his  poem.  This  fact  must  have  had  an  influence  upon  his  work. 
The  literary  sources  have  been  practically  exhausted  unless  some 
new  manuscript  of  romance  or  chronicle  is  discovered.  In  the 
history  of  the  nobles  and  courts  mentioned  above  lies  our  best  oppor- 
tunity to  add  to  the  knowledge  of  the  background  and  sources  of 
Ille  et  Galeron. 


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